Fish finder -- Published July 23, 2008

Wednesday

Jul 23, 2008 at 12:01 AM

The Record's recommended spots to find fish in the Central Valley and beyond.

Delta

Early morning in the main channel and mid-day in the back waters in Miner Slough and Snodgrass Slough by Locke are best for bait anglers who try for striped bass up to 25 inches. Anchovies, sardines and pile worms are the ticket. Fresh threadfin shad is almost impossible to buy. Trollers do well from Decker Island to the Rio Vista Bridge on the main Sacramento River, with typical stripers in the 7-pound range. Night trolling is a hoot in the Old Sacramento River from Vieira's Resort to the Isleton Bridge.

The most sought-after species is catfish, which is on a wild bite all over the Delta. Chicken liver, cut baits and clams all draw strikes. Black bass, particularly those in the 2- to 3-pound class, are prolific inside Frank's Tract and along the San Joaquin River between Light 51 and the mouth of Potato Slough, as well as in protected sloughs with decent water clarity such as Columbia Cut, Disappointment and Fourteen Mile. Smaller, quiet inlets are good for redear sunfish and bluegill, using red worms and wax worms. Information: (707) 374-2372 (Rio Vista); (916) 777-6662 (Isleton); (209) 369-0204 (Lodi); (209) 473-2239; (209) 948-6344.

Saltwater

Ocean - Pick your charter boat and port of choice and get out for rockfish. Ten-fish limits are the rule out of Monterey, Half Moon Bay, San Francisco Bay and Bodega Bay. No fooling. Fishing is that solid for a mix of yellows, blues, Vermilion and bocaccio. Lingcod to 18 pounds still are pretty scarce but will improve as the summer wears on. There is no salmon fishing season off the California coast this year. If you travel as far north as Shelter Cove and Fort Bragg, ask about rockfish-crab combination trips. Information: (831) 375-5951 (Monterey); (650) 726-7133 (Half Moon Bay); (510) 849-3333 (Berkeley); (707) 875-3344 (Bodega Bay); (707) 964-4550 (Fort Bragg).

San Francisco Bay - Wild striped bass action at Alcatraz, Mel's Reef and various rockpiles inside the bay slow this week because of slower tides. Now the scene switches to halibut because the coveted flatfish bite is better with tides with less velocity. Leopard shark fishing is tough, though some nice-quality fish in the 50-inch class are being pulled from south of the Bay Bridge within site of AT&T Park. Information: (510) 654-6040 (Emeryville).

San Pablo Bay - Halibut tides are good for fishing at South Hampton Shoals, Light 4, Paradise and just outside Loch Lomond Marina breakwater. Charter boats such as Tough of Gray are taking limits and near-limits of both striped bass and halibut, the fishing is that good. Striped bass showed Friday at The Brothers, but there is no sign of linesides a Marin Islands. Information: (415) 456-0321 (San Rafael).

Suisun Bay - If winds allow there are excellent chances for striped bass, in shallow water, and sturgeon at 25- to 35-foot depths in Suisun Bay. Bait such as pile worms, sardines and frozen shad are the ticket for bass, while sturgeon get after eel, salmon roe and shrimpbaits. Information: (925) 252-0151 (Pittsburg); (916) 777-6498 (Isleton).

Rivers

Sacramento - Last of the American shad run can be found above and below Chico. Anglers who try leadhead jigs with 2-inch grubs might also tie into an incidental striped bass in the 6-pound range. Between Redding and Anderson the focus is on wild rainbows, 1 to 3 pounds, occasionally larger. Information: (800) 355-3113 (Anderson).

Trinity - Former Lodi resident and guide, Mike Patee, now of Red Bluff, said flows have been kicked up to 700 cfs, drawing bright spring-run Chinook salmon all the way to Lewiston. Patee is hooking about three salmon an outing and looks for improvement with the increased volume of water. On Aug. 1, the river is reduced to 450 cfs. The Trinity and Klamath rivers offer the only in-river salmon fishing season this year in California. Expect the Klamath River to accommodate the fall-salmon run starting about the last week in August. Information: (209) 642-0639 (Red Bluff).

Lakes

Amador - Concessionaires have reduced prices for day use, fishing and camping, making this an attractive destination for families with kids who want to hook fish. Bluegill and redear sunfish are biting red worms, grubs and wax worms, providing nonstop action. Black bass work the surface early and late. Nighttime anglers seek catfish. Information: (209) 274-4739.

Camanche - Trollers find a mix of species, working 20 to 35 feet deep. Towing a Rapala or other minnow-imitation baits likely will yield trout, bass and some real big crappie to 2 pounds. Trout average 14 to 16 inches but occasionally weigh up to 5 pounds. Night anglers who anchor at the dam and Dike 3 do well with Power Bait and take fairly easy five-fish limits of rainbows. Black bass chasers try topwater baits - Zara Spooks, Pencil Poppers and buzzbaits - in the early morning hours. Bass weigh 1 to 4 pounds. Catfishing is very good after dusk. East Bay Municipal Utility District has turned on the Speece Cone at the dam to increase oxygen content in the water. This action draws trout to the zone. Information: (209) 763-5166.

Don Pedro - More recreational users than anglers. Guide Danny Layne of Twain Harte is running 100 to 120 feet deep to hook kokanee to 15 inches and weighing 1 1/2 pounds, claiming there is a "fairly good" bite off Copper Mountain, Oak Hill and up toward Hatch Creek. Spotted bass aren't large, but they are numerous for those who drop-shot early and late. Information: (209) 852-2369; (209) 586-2383 (Twain Harte).

Hogan - Field scout William Heinselman said fishing is "excellent" for striped bass. He touts trolling the main lake, across the dam and the mouths of creek arms, slow-rolling anchovies or shad at depths of 15 to 35 feet. He said bank fishing is "fair to good" with anchovies under a sliding sinker, especially off the main points, east and west of the boat ramp. As an option, largemouth bass to 3 pounds and smallmouth bass to 2 pounds will fall to popper-type lures and brown-colored Senkos. Catfish are feeding actively on shad minnows. Information: (209) 772-3822.

Los Vaqueros - Concessionaires have reduced boat rentals by 50 percent on Monday to Thursday to attract more anglers. A large batch of trout from the Calaveras Hatchery were released Tuesday. Some hook limits of rainbows in the South Cove, mainly on bait. King salmon are showing for trollers who pull Kastmaster lures. A 10 1/4-pound striped bass was taken from the bank on a nightcrawler. Because the lake is oxygenated year-round and the ever-present wind, water temperatures stay cool, about 70 degrees. To further encourage anglers, free 1 1/2-hour fishing seminars and tours are given at 8:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. on Saturdays. Information: (925) 371-2628.

New Melones - Water level receded two feet last week, about 115 feet below spill. Boat launching ramps are open at Tuttletown and Glory Hole. Shoreline fishing is very slow. Trollers hook many more kokanee salmon than trout, running lures 90 to 120 feet deep. Occasional kokanee measure 17 to 18 inches, but most are in the 13-inch class. Said Melanie Lewis at Glory Hole Sports in Angels Camp: "Kokanee limits are easy to come by for most anglers, with double hookups common." Some trollers try as shallow as 45 feet at first light. Lures with UV seem to be most effective, as are hoochies. Trick is to put scents on whatever you pull and tip the hooks with shoepeg corn. Spotted bass fishing is good off the main points. Topwater bite is happening early and late. The Model 1050 Keeper plastic worm is a good mid-day choice. Catfishing is good after dark. Information: (209) 736-4333 (Angels Camp); (209) 586-2383 (Twain Harte).

Pardee - Field scout Fred Dorman said trout are schooling in 30 to 50 feet of water at the Mokelumne River mouth and upstream to Columbia Gulch. Kokanee are about 90 feet deep, and it takes a graph to locate the ever-moving schools. Very few bank anglers try for trout, but there's always a chance to hook rainbows in the Recreation Area because of consistent Saturday plants. More than 45,000 pounds of trout have been stocked this year. Catfish are found in the coves from Mel's Cove to Rattlesnake Cove on the south end. Chicken livers are the ticket. Smallmouth bass are stirring along the rocks in the river channel. Information: (209) 772-1472.

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